Cities lack own smoking laws

John Sharp

Thursday

Dec 27, 2007 at 12:01 AMDec 27, 2007 at 6:23 PM

Peoria and a handful of other Tri-County municipalities have not adopted their own ordinances banning smoking. Without those laws, those municipalities could lose out on half of the revenue from fines, which will go to the state. Most government officials are awaiting clarification about the ban's rules.

When the Peoria City Council failed to get enough votes to pass a local ordinance enforcing the state’s smoking ban, at-large Councilman Eric Turner cringed.

"We as a council kind of stand out as idiots on what we did," Turner said about a Dec. 17 decision to not adopt a local ordinance allowing 100 percent of revenue from smoking ban fines to go to the city’s coffers. "I don’t like doing little things that makes us look different in the state."

Peoria, however, is not alone in not having a local ordinance mirroring the state’s Smoke Free Illinois Act that goes into effect midnight on Jan. 1.

A check of some of the larger communities in the Tri-County Area shows that very few governmental bodies have adopted ordinances allowing their communities to recover 100 percent of the fine from a smoking ban ticket. Instead, as it stands now, 50 percent of the ticket will go to the municipality where it was served, while the balance goes to the state.

In addition, without local ordinances, tickets will be referred to state’s attorney’s offices for prosecution. How those tickets will be handled in Peoria County and elsewhere remains unknown.

Most governmental officials are awaiting clarification about the smoking ban’s rules and others issues surrounding it from the General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, a bipartisan legislative oversight committee of 12 legislators.

But the committee doesn’t meet until Jan. 9. It is reportedly considering a second draft of rules that could pertain to prosecution and including how outdoor beer gardens are regulated.

"There is going to be confusion on this whole thing until people make some mistakes and it gets ironed out," said Turner, who also serves as the city’s acting liquor commissioner and would, under a local city ordinance, handle some of the smoking violations. "There is no municipality that thoroughly understands what they can or cannot do."

City Attorney Randy Ray said Peoria will enforce the law as it reads now by preventing anyone from smoking inside a public place and places of employment must be smoke free within 15 feet from entrances, exists, windows and open and ventilation intakes.

Ray said it is his understanding the city will enforce beer gardens by allowing smoking beyond the state’s designated 15-foot limit from entrances, windows, etc. However, he said JCAR could further define how to address that issue on Jan. 9.

Washington City Administrator Bob Morris also is interested in seeing how beer gardens are addressed. He said there have been two beer garden requests within the city in recent months.

"Like everyone, we are waiting," Morris said.

Washington does not have a local ordinance banning smoking. Neither does Pekin or East Peoria.

Morton has one that, according to Police Chief Nick Graff, is a simple reflection of the state law. Eureka is considering one as well.

The Peoria City Council likely will reconsider a local ordinance when it next meets Jan. 8. The council voted 5-4 to adopt a "Smoke Free Peoria Ordinance," but enacting a city ordinance requires six votes. Two council members who were absent from the Dec. 17 meeting could vote in favor of enacting the ordinance.